World Rugby to trial Hawk-Eye system head of World Cup
Monday, 16 February 2015 00:00
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Reuters: World Rugby will trial a new Hawk-Eye system to protect player welfare and aid decision making and may adopt it at the 2015 World Cup in England and Wales, the sport’s governing body said.
The new system will be tested in selected Pro12 fixtures from next week in a bid to improve and enhance the accuracy of existing television match official (TMO) systems.
Referee’s will still direct queries to the TMO but they will have access to an enhanced Hawk-Eye ‘SMART Replay’ technology which affords them simultaneous angles in slow motion.
The Hawk-Eye system has already been successfully utilised in other sports such as tennis, cricket, athletics and football.
“Technology is an important component of the rugby performance and fan engagement environments and Rugby World Cup 2015 is set to showcase innovation and performance to a record global audience,” World Rugby Chief Executive Brett Gosper said in a statement.
“Central to our sport is the integrity of player welfare and the match official decision making process and we are delighted to be collaborating with Hawk-Eye and ITV as well as PRO12 Rugby and Sky to determine how we can enhance speed and accuracy in these critical areas.
“While this is not a fait accompli, we are excited by the proposed system developed by Hawk-Eye that has clear benefits for the match official team, the medical team and fans around the world and these live trials will help us determine a technology approach for Rugby World Cup.”
The Rugby World Cup, won by New Zealand in 2011, runs from Sept. 18 to Oct. 31.
